Mike Allen, POLITICO’s Chief White House correspondent and author of “Playbook,” was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Richmond Thursday night.

A graduate of Washington and Lee University, Allen began his career at The (Fredericksburg) Free-Lance Star before joining the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

He joined the hall of fame on the same evening as his college journalism mentor, Hampden Smith.

In accepting his award, Allen recalled that when he filed his first big story to Smith, the professor scrawled “NUTS” on top of the paper.

“Ham didn’t bury the lede,” Allen quipped.

Allen also used his remarks to honor his colleagues and editors during his Virginia days and recalled when he landed on Page One at the Free-Lance Star for a story on the King George County Board of Supervisors.

The topic: a debate on whether hot dogs should be taxed as a meal or a snack.